Here’s an interesting plan to solve two of New York City’s current problems in one fell swoop. First, the subway would be free, at least during off peak hours, and possibly ultimately around the clock. Second, vehicular traffic into the city would be expensive. This new Kheel plan from a long term veteran of conflict resolution promises a wonderful solution to the problems of a transit system in financial crisis and a city clogged with traffic.

Being the pessimist that I am, and looking at what happened to the Bloomberg plan for congestion pricing, I don’t really have much hope for this. However, this just might be exactly what New York needs.

Here’s something I haven’t seen in NYC before. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this was going on, else I’d have raced down to Union Square for this 1:45AM celebration. That these folks seem a bit giddy and likely drunk is quite appropriate given that the tune being sung was an old drinking song before it got coopted and given new lyrics.

I’m taking the liberty of assuming that there is a boatload of information about tourism in New York that will get you to all of the major sites. However, I live here. And, I have different tastes than many people. So, I’m going to provide some information for getting off the beaten track in New York City. Yes, that is possible.

From a New Yorker’s viewpoint, I find it amusing to go through Times Square or 5th Avenue in the 50s. I see the streets so crowded that I end up walking in the street rather than on the sidewalk, especially through Times Square, and imagine all the tourists going home and talking about how overcrowded New York is. Yes. It’s crowded here, but not that crowded. Those areas are crowded with tourists, not residents.

So, for some ways to get out of the crowd, click the more link to see the rest of this post.

Recent Updates

I plan to keep this topic as somewhat of a living document. As I think of things I’ll add them, so check back. Here are the updates since I published the post.